About

"The reluctant Francophile..."

My husband Jack has always wanted to live in Paris and learn French. I thought it would be good for him to achieve his life time dream. Hence, we moved to Paris in 2008. My first year was difficult. I started "missives" to relieve some stress and chronicle my life so friends back in the US could read what I am experiencing. I currently write about my food and travel experiences, which is my passion.

It is definitely a challenge to live here, but each year it gets easier, and quite enjoyable, in large part because I value friendships over locale. I have a love/hate relationship with Paris as do most Parisians, mais La vie est belle (but life is good)!

Axuria, which means milk fed lamb, is a restaurant not too far from where we live. A friend called last
minute and asked if could join her for dinner. Never one to turn down a dinner
invitation we said, "bien sûr" (of course). We had heard of the restaurant
and we were able to make reservations on the same day. I was surprised, but then I remembered
it was election night, and also a Sunday, so not a typical dining evening.

We got to the restaurant,
and the waiter/maitre’d answered the door and greeted us very warmly. Our
friend was already at the table. We had a very nice table along the window, and
the restaurant was maybe a third full. It has a very nice interior, nicely laid out with a very cooling blue color palate.

Almost immediately we got an
amuse bouche of chorizo sausages and puff pastry cheese sticks. I was surprised the chorizo had very little kick
to it, and the cheese sticks were nothing special.

We were going to get apéros,
but had decided just to get a half a bottle each of the Isabelle et Pierre
Clément Châtenoy red and white. We loved
the wines, since I’m not a wine connoisseur all I can tell you was that the
white was a tad dry, but not as dry as a sancerre, loved it. And, my companions thought the red wine dry and robust, it was a hit as well.

Much to our surprise and
delight, we got another amuse bouche, this time it was a little creamy soup of leeks, celery and
green onions, with a sprinkling of a little olive oil. We loved this dish.
Rather than be dainty, I drank it and practically licked the bowl. I could’ve
had that as a main course for sure.

Entrées:

Our friend ordered the “Ravioli
de truffes noires court-bouillon et sa crème parfumée” (Ravioli of black
truffle broth and flavored cream). Just
a little aside, our friend is Italian, so she knows ravioli. She raved that it was
delicious, especially the sauce. Not wanting to dig into the ravioli, I asked
if I could sop up some of sauce with my bread. It was delicious. Extremely
tasty, or as they say in French, “Beaucoup de goût” lots of flavor.

“Coeur de scarole braisée
farcie aux huitres fines de claires marennes d'Oléron cuit en cocotte, laqué” (Escarole
stuffed with oysters fine clear Marennes d’Oléron broth). This was a stuffed escarole with oysters.
This dish was delicious. I wasn’t as polite and asked my companion if I could
taste it. Yum, yum. This dish wasn’t as
creamy as the ravioli, but was not a shy dish, you could taste the oysters, and
the accompanying broth was delightful.
It had a punch of flavors.

I ordered the “Pâte artisinale
aux queues de langoustines, consummé d'épices et feuille de citron kaffir” (A
dough stuffed with langoustines, broth of spices and kaffir lime leaf). This
was probably the most refined of all the entrées we had. Basically, it was akin to a wonton stuffed with langostines. Normally kaffir leafs are used in Southeast
Asian curries, but in this dish the citrusy element was quite mild and not overwhelming.
It was a good, solid dish, again very refined.

Plats:

Our Italian friend ordered
the Parmentier de cochon Iberique braisé, sarriette (Braised Iberian savory pork
pie). I’m not a big fan of “parmentier” which is akin to a sheppards pie,
oftentimes it’s folded into the mashed potatoes, in this case it was all meat
and then a layer of potatoes on top. I thought the pulled pork was a bit stringy, our friend thought it was OK, but I would definitely
not order something that is typically made in a French home. It was not a
complicated nor a sophisticated dish.

Cabillaud with a foam cream
and variety of vegetables. The dish was flavorful, and my companion enjoyed
that the dish was accompanied with various vegetables which is a rarity in most
French restaurants, unless you’re ordering a salad as a plat, and contrary to
popular belief, French fries don’t count.

I had the “Braisée traver de
Porc” (braised pork ribs). These spare
ribs are nothing like the typical spare ribs you get in US. They were slowly
braised in a rich wine sauce and the meat literally fell off the bone. I loved
the dish because it was rich in flavor.
Surprisingly, it was served with a
side of haricot vert, carrots, squash,some potatoes and mushrooms. That was quite a
nice accompaniment.

Desserts:

Our Italian friend ordered “Craquant
de 3 sorbets maison, colis de framboises” (3 crisp sorbets, raspberry parcels),
this was basically a trio of sorbets that consisted of raspberry, mango, and
lemon accompanied with some sugar crispy wafers. Our friend said it was quite refreshing
after a heavy meal.

Originally my companion
ordered the “Petit feuilleté chaud de pommes, crème glacée à la vanilla.” Our
waiter got it confused, and brought out the “Assiette de fruits frais de saison
simplement minute” (Assorted fresh seasonal fruit ). He was about to return it
until he saw the plate of fruit and incredible variety, it was too appetizing
to return. He liked the fruit and
thought it was very fresh. It also had a dollop of mango sorbet

I ordered “Assiette de
fromage” (plate of cheese). I have to say, I had quite the variety of cheese.
Normally, you get 2 or 3 types of cheese to sample, but this particular dish
had 5-cheeses, a nice salad tossed in a mild creamy vinaigrette, accompanied with walnuts
and dried apricot. Whoever their cheese vendor is, s/he is a keeper.

After desserts, when we thought all was said and done, much to our surprise and delight, they
served us a plate of madeleines as well as little chocolate fudge. At this point, I’m thinking I'm liking this restaurant a lot!

Summary: Although it's namesake is Axuria (milk fed lamb), I think there was maybe one lamb dish on the menu. Regardless, this restaurant is a winner.
Chef Olivier Amostoy is one of the best Chefs in Paris. Our favorite
dish was the amuse bouche soup. The only
dish we weren’t that excited about was the parmentier, but other than that,
everything was a winner. I really don’t want to share this restaurant, since
it’s a neighborhood restaurant that I want to start frequenting, but I’m all about sharing. Auxria is a hidden gem, so go before it
becomes too popular.

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Disclosure

Since I am retired, I am not aspiring to be the next "blogger" extraordinaire. I write solely for my edification and to entertain my friends. I do not accept gifts, cash or free meals from restaurants or businesses that I may review or mention in my blog. Nor do I make a pre-announcement that I am reviewing a restaurant. I also do not accept paid advertisement.

Interview with Michelle Pozon

Interview with Chef Aaron Isip

Brief summary of my food philsophy......

“It’s not how well you can cook, but how well you can execute…”

I'm a big "lover of food" having gone to the California Culinary in SF as a hobby, and when I retired I ran a cooking club which included cooking demos as well as bringing in other "cooks" and local Chefs to share family recipes and/or provide cooking demos. I have helped Chefs develop menus, took part in wine and food pairing events, wrote restaurant reviews, assisted in test kitchens developing recipes, and I've even catered a few weddings.

Although I favor Asian/ethnic cuisine over European cuisine, I love to eat all foods. My philosophy has always been, when you travel visit the country's markets. Markets provide a wealth of information about a culture and it's people. Make no mistakes, I think French cuisine can be very good, but to me it is not the "be-all-end-all."

NOTE: As we all know, restaurants can improve or deteriorate. I will try to update my restaurant reviews, if there are any significant changes.